2 Hempfield Area students charged with sexting

Two Hempfield Area High School students have been charged with sending sexually explicit pictures to one another, state police at Greensburg said. 

The exchange, commonly called sexting, took place outside of school and involved a 14-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy, authorities said. 

The two, who were not identified because of their ages, are charged with transmitting sexually explicit images, police said. 

A teacher overheard students talking about the exchange, Superintendent Barbara Marin said. The teacher reported the matter to administrators, who contacted state police to investigate, she said. 

District officials hold assemblies and forums with students to stress the harm that can be done through sexting or careless postings on social media, but some students don’t seem to get the message, Marin said. 

“Young students, they don’t seem to understand the ramifications of their actions,” she said. “These (images) don’t go away. They’re there forever.” 

The district has held programs for parents, telling them how they can monitor students’ cellphones, Marin said. 

“We try to be proactive, but I think a lot of it is that students don’t take it seriously,” she added. 

This year, a retired chief deputy from the state attorney general’s office spoke to students, teachers, administrators and parents about how parents and the community can work together to prevent cyberbullying and sexting, she said. 

Philip Little, a representative from the department of criminal investigation with the attorney general, spoke to Harrold and West Hempfield middle school students in assemblies about Internet predators, cyberbullying and privacy, as well as the dangers that can result from careless postings on social media, Marin said. 

Sexting is nothing new for the area. 

Penn Township police confiscated cellphones at Penn-Trafford High School in January in response to sexting incidents. 

That district had sponsored programs for students about the harm of sexting. 

In 2013, Murrysville police investigated three cases involving youths sending or taking pictures. 

No charges resulted, but one student received counseling after being accused of taking but not sending photos. 

That year, North Huntingdon police and the FBI investigated a since-closed pornographic website that featured photos of Norwin High School students.